A blog that tackles issues on basic education (in the Philippines and the United States) including early childhood education, the teaching profession, math and science education, medium of instruction, poverty, and the role of research and higher education.

"Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labor in every country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things which we create in common." - Albert Einstein

As school opens today, various youth and student groups led by ANAKBAYAN held a protest action in front of the Department of Education (DepEd) to protest the “worsening education crisis” due to Aquino government’s “flawed” policies.

According to Vencer Crisostomo, ANAKBAYAN national chairperson, shortages in facilities, classrooms and teachers are on the rise due to insufficient spending on education.

“This year there will be a shortage of 132,483 teachers, 97,685 classrooms, and 153,709 water and sanitation facilities this year,” he said, citing data from the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

According to Crisostomo, the P238.8 billion government allocation for DepEd is grossly insufficient and is equivalent to only P7 per student per day for basic and secondary education. He said it is P300 billion short of the UN recommendation which is 6% of GDP.

“The situation is bound to get worse due as the government implements the K-12. Barya-baryang limos ang inilaan nila sa edukasyon. For instance, the government allotted only P1.9 billion for universal kinder when the required budget is at least P18 billion,” he said.

Crisostomo said that as it is, about half of the youth population aged 11-15 are out of school and the drop-out rate is at 80%.

“More students may be bound to drop-out, hiking the number of out-of-school youth unless the government increases budget and improves access to education. However, so far it has encouraged more tuition hikes and has been insensitive to the plight of parents and students,” said Crisostomo.

Crisostomo said that the tuition rates in private schools have risen as well amidst failure of government to regulate.

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About Me

Angel C. de Dios, Ph.D., is currently an associate professor of chemistry at Georgetown University. At Georgetown, he has been teaching General Chemistry since 1995 in addition to graduate courses in molecular spectroscopy and quantum chemistry. His research interests include nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, protein structure determination, anti-malarial drugs, and math and science education. He was a recipient of a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and the Georgetown College Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. A member of PAASE (Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering), he helped the residents of Paete, Laguna incorporate computers and the Internet into their public schools.